Deflation
by Booth-is-my-Angel
Summary: A newly matured James attempts to win over Lily in Potions the first day of their seventh year.  The results are not exactly what he expected.


**A/N**: This is for Jg Rox's "Rival Ship Challenge" on HPFC. My pairing was James and Lily. Hope you enjoy! For the sake of the story, I made Slughorn's lesson on Amortencia, the love potion, take place in James and Lily's seventh year. My thinking is that over the years, students became more advanced than the previous generations, so what were once seventh year lessons, became sixth year lessons in Harry's time. It happens in the muggle world!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or potions or anything. They all belong to J.K. Rowling.

"Deflation"

For the first time in his life, James Potter arrived a few minutes early to class. It was the first lesson of the last year at Hogwarts- N.E.W.T. level Potions. He'd spent the last two years studying his brains out in order to make it to this level, something he wanted to accomplish just to prove he could. Unfortunately, Remus was the only other Maurderer that had made it this far as well.

James scanned the half empty dungeon, then grinned when he spotted a flash of dark red hair. Lily sat alone at a table in the front of the room, lost in her Potions textbook. Despite the fact that they had both been appointed Head Boy and Girl, James hadn't had a chance to speak with her alone yet. Whenever he tried the day before, whether on the train or in the halls at night while patrolling, he had been interrupted by lost first years, knowledge-seeking new prefects, or other questioning students. So if coming to class _before_ the bell rang was what it took to talk to her freely, then so be it. James set his shoulders before sauntering over to Lily.

"Morning, Head Girl," he said with a wink, casually slipping into the empty chair on her left. Lily briefly turned to him before returning to her book.

"Good morning, James," she said politely. His stomach turned a familiar flip at the melodious sound of her voice. He'd never grow tired of hearing it. When he didn't say anything, she glanced at him again. He stared at her lovingly, unaware of the dumb smile playing on his lips. She was perfect. The curve of her bright emerald eyes, the slope of her neck, her slender fingers…every inch of her was perfect and she never failed to take his breath away. "What?" She asked, eyebrows lifting. "What is it?" He crossed his arms and leaned back smugly.

"That's the first time you've addressed me by my first name," he said. Lily laughed, surprised. Whatever she had expected him to say, it certainly wasn't that.

"No, it's not!"

"Oh, yes it is," said James. "I would remember otherwise." He would. Even in their rare, quiet moments when he wasn't getting on her nerves, Lily still only referred to James by his surname. Every 'yes, Potter' and 'thank you, Potter' was a reminder that no matter how hard he tried, she still wouldn't think of him as more than merely a classmate.

"I hadn't realized you've kept a record of everything I say so you wouldn't forget." Sensing her playful tone, he narrowed his eyes mischievously, tapped his temple with his finger and said,

"I'm like a steel trap." Lily laughed again despite herself and the sound was, once again, music to James' ears. He was sure that the happiness he felt in making Lily laugh was one of the best sensations he would ever feel. He'd never admit that to anyone of course, for he feared being mercilessly teased by his friends for acting like a lovesick fool. Keeping his voice from shaking whenever he spoke to her was a skill he'd mastered over the years.

Controlling the pounding of his heart or the nerves in his gut however, was not. He could mask his feelings with a charming smile, but if he picked up his wand, it was sure to slip out of his sweaty palms, shattering his nonchalant facade. "You better tone down the flirting, Evans. I might just start to think you fancy me." Her retort was deferred as Professor Slughorn bustled into his class, three cauldrons levitating before him.

"Hello, hello, class!" He welcomed, guiding the objects down to his desk in front of James and Lily with a flick of his wand. "I hope everyone had a lovely summer! Now, we have a lot to do today, so we better get started." James, so caught up in Lily, hadn't even realized that Remus and several other seventh years had entered the dungeon. When he was near her, forgetting that there was a world around them was a common occurrence. Slughorn began his lesson and motioned to the cauldron farthest from James, who was hardly paying any attention to what his professor was saying.

Instead, he was entranced by the potion in front of him. The liquid mother-of-pearl shimmered and swirled and just so happened to smell exactly like Lily's perfume, along with other familiar and mild scents. He looked around the room behind him and saw that he wasn't the only one giving special attention to the potion. His peers were staring at it attentively as well. As he watched them, faces tilting upward, nostrils flaring, a strange need to protect grew in James. He didn't want everyone to just be _smelling_ Lily like animals, but telling the class to quit breathing seemed unreasonable.

James straightened up and turned to the front of the class again, remembering that _this_ was the year to show Lily that he wasn't an arrogant toe rag. This was the year to finally win her over. And to accomplish that, he needed to start looking studious.

"And finally," Slughorn said, gesturing toward the greatest potion James thought had ever existed, if only for its captivating aroma. "Does anyone know what brews in this cauldron?" No one stirred but Lily. She bit her lip, then picked up her book and quickly flipped through it. Slughorn watched her, smiling patiently. If anyone could find the answer, James knew Slughorn would agree that it was Lily.

Or _Snivellus_, James thought suddenly. He snuck a glimpse behind him again and immediately spotted the odd boy. Snape appeared to be in a world of his own, hunched over his desk and scribbling wildly in a book. James, swallowing the disdain that boiled up within him whenever _Snivellus_ was around, drew his attention back to Lily. He saw a small smile creep onto her pretty face.

Slughorn must have also witnessed her realization, for he exclaimed, "Yes, Miss Evans! Have you found it?"

"I think, Professor, it's Amortentia, a love potion," she answered confidently.

"Wonderful!" The professor exclaimed. "Ten points for Gryffindor!" Lily beamed at the praise and James was happy she was happy. Slughorn addressed the class: "And what does this Amortentia smell like?" James' hand shot into the air. He _knew_ this, he could impress Lily with his knowledge since his confidence never seemed to do the trick. She'd finally think he was good enough for her.

"Vanilla," he said as soon as he was called on. "It smells strongly of vanilla, among other things." James was surprised that Slughorn furrowed his brow instead of immediately awarding him with points.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I actually meant that Amortentia's fragrance differs from person to person, according to the things they love the most. In your case, it would be vanilla, apparently." Laughter quickly scattered across the room and James recognized the familiar chuckle of Remus, slightly louder than the others.

_Traitor_, he thought, flushing. Had he not admitted Lily's perfume was the scent he loved more than any other in the world, he wouldn't have been so embarrassed. No one knew how deep his feelings ran for her. Well, no one knew until now. Too humiliated to even look at Lily, who actually hadn't joined the class in enjoying his folly, he pulled his textbook toward him and pretended to look something up.

The class moved on, _thank Merlin_, and James decided to steal a glance at her, who he could see staring at him in his peripheral vision. She was smirking. James tried to cope with his embarrassment as he looked away quickly. He could only imagine the questions Lily was undoubtedly thinking: Why did he know the name of her favorite perfume? _She's only been wearing it everyday for several years._ Was he stalking her? _No._ It's a love potion- did he love her? _What! Well, yes._

Sometime during James' reverie, Slughorn finished lecturing and told the class to begin brewing the Draught of Living Death.

"I'm surprised, James," Lily said when he returned from the ingredients cabinet.

"Why's that, Evans?" He hoped his tone sounded casual but his heart clenched once again at the way his name fell off her lips.

"I expected you to flash your famous smarmy grin and make a cheeky remark to cover up your mistake." She paused to carefully measure out the correct amount of sopophorous beans. "But instead you looked, dare I say it, _embarrassed._ It was very mature of you."

"Well, you know, I _am_ very mature, Evans." He met her flirtatious smirk with a grin. "I even sit in the front of the class now."

"You better tone it down, Potter," She winked. "I might just start to think I fancy you." She looked back down at her cauldron, leaving James in a pleasant daze. He couldn't remember doing anything else during class that day, he was too distracted by her words. Lily was starting to like him. His potion ended up being unfinished, but he felt on top of the world.


End file.
